I have been scheduled for an administrative hearing. I am trying to get my salesperson license in California. I have never been licensed for real estate before. I had a conviction that has been expunged. I was just wondering if any of you who have gone through an administrative hearing would be willing to share your experience. Is it as formal as a hearing in a court of law? Did you retain a lawyer? Thank you in advance.

you did not state the type of conviction

Sorry, I don't have any personal experience in this area. Nonetheless, good luck.

It was a felony conviction. Nothing to do with stealing other peoples' property, fraud, or anything like that. I did not do prison time--just community service, etc. I had an earlier thread where I described it in more detail.

I went to the hearing this morning. I will describe it briefly for the benefit of those who might be wondering about this but are afraid to ask. Keep in mind I am in California. I represented myself. The hearing was preceded by an administrative judge and not a panel. It was pretty much set up like a trial in a court of law but the room was much smaller. The atmosphere felt a lot more casual which I appreciated. It was only the administrative judge, the DRE attorney, me, and a transcriber in the hearing room. It took about 1 hour. I took a copy of my junior/high school transcripts which show excellent behavior marks; I took my latest work performance appraisal (recently got a raise so it’s good); I gave information about places where I have volunteered (PTA, animal rescues, etc.). It might be another 30++ days before I know the outcome.

I commend you on your patience, perseverance, and trying to work within the System.

If they don't respond favorably, it must mean they are using a totally different dictionary for the American-English Language.

If "Expunge" means to erase of remove completely, and to render somthing to be of no further consequence . . . . and they don't have that same understanding, then we've all got problems.

Well Good Luck anyway . . . . though it shouldn't be necessary. When initially asked about any prior convictions, one might reasonably say that something which was "expunged" need not even be reported; but you didn't ignore it. I hope that a mis-understanding of the language doesn't now penalize you again.

Good luck and thanks for the update.